Buying a used car isn't like it used to be

[Major Nikon]

It doesn't seem like that long ago when you lost about 4 grand of a vehicle's value the first year and 2-4 grand the 2nd year. Those days are gone. In some cases, buying a 1 year old used car was the same price as buying a new one. I would have been happy buying a car that was 3-4 years old and had a lot of miles on it, but those cars were only about 3 grand less than a new one at best and many were almost the same price as new. So I've been looking for a 2011 or 2012 Chevy Cruze. Originally I was looking for the Eco model, but there just aren't any on the used market, so I settled on one with the LT package (better gas mileage and more horsepower than the base model). One dealer I went to was selling this one a 2012 with 7K miles for $18K. I told them, you know I can get a new one for just $1,000 more? They said, yes we know, but people are paying that for them so that's what we're asking. The price is firm. Dayum. At least they were honest about it.

I finally found a 2012 model for $16K. They were originally asking $17K. So I got it for about $3K less than a new one. It looks brand new. Gas mileage is 38/26. Miles are low. I'm happy.

One thing that hasn't changed is the lying. The salesman tried to tell me the car was sold by a family with a new baby that needed something bigger. Really? Why does the car fax say "rental car"??? Ummm..... Two different dealerships told me the exact same story. Both were previous rental cars. Unbelievable. These guys all go to the same school on how to rip off customers. Two cars I was interested in had hail damage. Neither ad said anything about hail damage. I told one of them they could have saved me the trip had they disclosed that fact in the ad. At least one called me back when I was on the way over to tell me.

When I was ready to make an offer they wanted my DOB, driver's license number, and SSN. Really? Why do you need that? I'm not going to use your financing so you don't need to run my credit. "We just need to fill out this paperwork so we're sure you're sincere. We get a lot of people who waste our time." OK, here's the card of my person at the credit union. She'll tell you the money is available. Is that good enough? Because if it isn't I'm out of here. No way I'm giving you any personal information till I'm ready to sign the paperwork. I don't want you pulling my credit. Later on in the process the finance guy pulls my credit anyway. Assholes.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. All true. The sad part is that I have more equity in my paid for, 2006 F150

Than I have in my San jose condo that I bought in 1990.

[Major Nikon]

2. The good part is at least used cars are holding their value

It's a sellers market out there.

[fainaent]

3. I buy used, but through smaller dealers

I have found some honest, reputable used car dealers in my time. I also have a great mechanic in one of my best friends.

Last time, I bought a Honda Accord, with 170,000 miles, for $4400. I drove it for three years, spent a total of $400 on repairs, and sold it for $3200. Under $45/month to pay for that car while I had it. I'm doing the same thing with a Volvo right now. I bought it for $1000, put $2500 into it, and should be able to sell it after three years for about $2000.

[Major Nikon]

4. I sold my last Accord to a guy I work with at 170,000 miles

He gave it to his daughter and she put another 100,000 miles on it before they sold it. It was still running fine when they got rid of it with the original non-overhauled engine and tranny. We were talking about that old car just the other day. Between the two of us, it had been in 8 separate accidents and repaired. That car was immortal.

The smaller dealers did seem much more honest, but their prices just weren't as good as the bigger dealers. I think the bigger dealers have more leverage to buy fleet vehicles which is why they tend to have better deals as far as what I was looking for.

[fainaent]

5. Hondas really are amazing...

200,000 miles is just getting warmed up.

I'm really lucky, because I have a good friend who, for some reason or another, will sell me a car, and do repair work, for his costs. He charges no extra on top of his price of getting the car, adds nothing to the price of materials, and doesn't charge me for labor. I doubt I could get the kinds of deals from a large dealer that I could from him

I also had a brief attempt at selling new cars... Hyundai/GMC/Pontiac. I know where they get most of their cars for the used car lot, and they usually don't pay more than $2,000 for them. I don't know why so many people will take $2,000 for a trade-in, when they own the car, and KBB for it is $6,000...

[Major Nikon]

6. I normally trade in my old cars

I've had just too many bad experiences selling used cars. I'll post a notice at work and try to sell them that way, but I won't sell to strangers anymore even if I lose $1,000 or so.

One time I sold a car to a woman and I told her the same thing I tell everyone. The car has an out-of-site guarantee. As soon as it's out of site, that's the end of the guarantee. I even wrote in big print on the bill of sale, "NO WARRANTY" which she signed. A full 6 months later she calls me up saying the alternator went out, she took it to Mexico to have it repaired, and someone stole her hubcaps. Ummm, sorry to hear about that, but why are you calling me with this? "I'm sending you the bill." Send it wherever you want, but I'm not payin' it. The car had almost 200,000 miles on it when you got it. What did you expect and what part of "NO WARRANTY" did you not understand? The next thing I know she has someone calling me up threatening to kick my ass if I don't pay. She and her friends or relatives were calling me up continuously with this shit. A good friend of mine is a lawyer. He wrote her a nasty threatening letter on his letterhead saying we were going to get the police involved, file a lawsuit, etc. if she doesn't cease and desist immediately. He advised me to pay $50 to a process server and have her served with it just for effect, which I did. I never heard from her again. Something about "you've been served" gets people's attention. I would have paid money to see the look on her face.

Another time I sold a car and the guy didn't get the title transferred. The next thing I know I have a warrant out for my arrest. Fortunately I always do a bill of sale, so I was able to get it clear up, but it still took a half day of my time at the county courthouse and could have resulted in me getting thrown in the pokey had I been pulled over.

The final straw was I sold a truck and wound up getting only $100 more than what CarMax was going to give me for it after a month of trying to get rid of it. For that $100 I had to deal with tire kickers and other assorted assholes who wanted nothing more than to waste my time.

Now I just go to CarMax. They will give me a written offer for selling my car outright. I take this to the dealership and tell them they can either beat that offer by $100, or I sell it to them. I've done this twice and both times they beat the CarMax offer. This only works if you're selling a car that they are interested in buying, but I do think they give a fair offer just based on my own experience.

[raccoon]

10. I don't blame you. A few years ago, a guy was trying to sell a car to a couple and they

murdered him.

[littlewolf]

7. I am a big carmax fan.

I bought my F150 at carmax .. love it ...
havent had to sell one yet .... usually I drive em till
the tires fall off .... then I get some duct tape
and put the tires back on and drive it some more ...
my Ranger has over 215K and the wife's explorer has
200K on it ...
when I get rid of the explorer l8r this year ...
I will probably give it to a family that needs a
good car for local driving ...

[NV Whino]

8. Tell me about it

I just totaled my 2007 FIT. Got a very good settlement and went looking for a 2010. After looking online and at dealers, I ended up buying a new 2012 for 2K more than the best used one I found. I'm happy to have a new car, but that's crazy.

[Kali]

9. shitty economy = tight used market

[Major Nikon]

11. I'm sure that's a big part of it

However, I've seen hard times before and I've never seen a used car market like this which leads me to believe there's more to it. I think it may have to do with the way used cars are marketed on the internet now and the lower markup on new cars.